Sky Full Of Lighters
by mysticalforces
Summary: Alex looked into Norma's tear-filled eyes, wanting nothing more then to comfort her…he didn't even know this girl but he cared…already. {Normero AU.}
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Ok, so this is my first ever attempt at a Normero fic. It is extremely AU. I hope you guys like it and please review!

 **Chapter 1**

Norma James pulled right into a vacant parking spot at the sports bar of…..truthfully she had no idea where the hell she was at. As she pulled her gear into park, she sat still for a second.

She'd driven for over an hour and truthfully the entire drive had been a blur. She'd just caught her boyfriend in bed with her best friend and all she wanted to do was to forget it. In order to do that she needed to get shit faced wasted. She knew that she needed to get the hell out of town. She didn't need to run into anyone she knew and have them try to stop her.

Norma breathed deeply before getting out of her car and strolling towards the entrance. She walked in the door and walked straight over to the bar, she didn't even notice a pair of brown eyes that had settled on her from the moment she walked in the door.

She sat down in one of the stools not even noticing that she was right next to somebody.

The bartender walked over to her. "Hey, what'll it be?"

"Washington Apple," Norma replied as she laid some money out in front of him. "six shots."

The guy quirked an eye brow at her.

Norma immediately took offense as she wasn't really loving guys at the moment and his hesitation to do her order was starting to tick her off. "You got a problem?"

The guy just smirked. "No, no problem at all. It's your hangover." He replied before grabbing six shot glasses, setting them in front of her and poured. "Enjoy."

"Thank you." Norma rolled her eyes as she downed her first shot.

The guy that was seated right next to her, watched her with curiosity. He had watched her ever since she walked through the door. She'd looked hurt and his heart had tugged with empathy.

Now, as he watched her down her fifth shot, he could see that she was a fast drinker. If he wanted to talk to her, he'd better do it before she left.

"I…." _Come on, Romero_ he scolded himself. _Just say something_. "I don't believe I've seen you here before."

Norma rolled her eyes without even looking at him. "That's original."

 _That went real well dumbass_ , Alex internally berated himself. "I'm Alex." He continued. "So, what brings you here?"

Norma turned to tell the guy to back the hell off when she was met with the most amazing brown eyes she'd ever seen before. It was like the moment she gazed in them, she felt herself get lost and she completely forgot about what she was going to say.

"I'm Norma," She replied after a few moments. "and I'm here to get wasted. What about you, Alex? What are you here for?"

Alex laughed. "Well, I appreciate your honesty. I've been working double twelve hour shifts for the past two weeks, just needed a night to relax."

Norma downed her sixth shot, starting to feel some of the effects. "Wow, double twelve's. That's gotta be rough."

"Pays the bills," Alex shrugged. "Can I buy you another drink?"

Norma's head told her to just grab her shit and get the hell out of there, she didn't know this guy and she didn't need more alcohol. She was tired of listening to her rational head though.

"Why not?" Norma smiled. "Sure."

Alex smiled back. "You want another shot?"

"Well what are you drinking?" Norma asked.

Alex frowned. He was drinking beer and that was the last thing that girl should be mixing crown royal whiskey with. "Listen, Norma…."

Norma sensed a lecture coming and it made her become defensive. She was sick of people telling her what was best for her.

"Are you gonna tell me what you're drinking or not? Because it really makes no difference. If you think you're gonna stop me and be my hero…..ya got another thing coming. I'm no one's damsel in distress." She glared at him darkly.

Alex quickly realized that this girl wasn't gonna respond well to being told what to do. He would just have to keep an eye on her in a tactful way. "Fair enough." He responded after a few minutes. "I'm drinking beer, corona."

Norma looked at him and smiled. "Good choice."

Alex looked Norma over for a few moments…he could sense a deep sadness in her just by staring into her beautiful eyes.

Norma felt mesmerized by Alex's eyes…but they also scared her. She felt like he was looking right down into her soul…

"What?!" Norma snapped, turning her defense mechanism on quickly to full blast…something she did whenever she felt scared or cornered. "Why don't you just take a fucking picture or something?!"

Alex was taken aback by her sudden anger.

This girl clearly had some deep seated issues…and a part of him told him to just leave this girl be…not to get involved in whatever drama she had going…but a bigger part of him, told him to try. To not give up…to try to know this girl. He already felt something for her. A connection.

Alex breathed deeply before leaning in close to her and gently placing his hand on hers.

Norma felt an electrical current from the moment his hand touched hers. And her defense mechanism told her to say some snappy attitude like thing to him…threaten him if he ever tried to touch her again…but she didn't feel fear from this guy. She just felt….a safety of some sort.

Alex took it as a good sign that she wasn't pulling away or getting angry. "Norma," He breathed gently. "do you want to talk about it?"

Alex being this close to her was starting to mess up her brain function…she was forgetting everything else but how close she was to him…how much she wanted to kiss him. "Talk about what?" Norma feebly tried once again to pretend that she was just here to get drunk…end of story.

"Norma…" Alex said softly. "I don't know you…but you are not fooling me…I can…" He gently pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and caressed her face. "I can see your pain.."

With those words, with his look of empathy and kindness…just like that Norma broke. She started sobbing…hard and heartbreaking hysterical sobs.

Alex quickly pulled her into his arms, gently tangling his hands in her hair as he tried to comfort her. "Shhh…" He breathed into her ear. "Its ok…I've got you and it's going to be ok."

Norma gripped Alex's shirt tightly as she let out all of her heartbreaking tears against him.

"Norma," Alex said softly. "do you want to get out of here? We can be alone…and you can talk to me…or I can give you more alcohol if that's what you want…but I can't leave you alone in this bar…you're too vulnerable to the wrong kind of guys.."

Norma pulled back, her face stained with tears as she looked into his eyes. "Alex," She breathed softly. "Why do you care?"

Alex looked into Norma's tear-filled eyes, wanting nothing more then to comfort her…he didn't even know this girl but he cared…already.

"Norma," Alex said softly, leaning into her, gently stroking her hair. "I've been where you are. I know what it's like to wanna get lost."

She looked at him for a few moments, really looked at him. "Kiss me," Norma whispered, leaning in even closer.

Alex's lips were a breath away from Norma's. His heart was racing as he was so close to claiming her lips with his. "Is that what you want, Sweetheart?" He placed a feather light kiss on Norma's lips, she lightly moaned. "You want me to kiss you?"

"Mmmm," Norma moaned softly. She was now in his lap, her legs were wrapped around him and she ached as she moved softly to gain some friction.

"Norma," Alex groaned. "I'm trying to be the good guy here…but I only have so much restraint…"

"Has it ever occured to you that maybe I don't want you to be the good guy?" Norma returned softly. "Kiss me. Please."

"Screw it." Alex muttered before crashing his lips to hers, kissing her with everything inside of him.

Norma let out little moans and cries against his lips, her arms around his neck and her clothed crotch grinding against his desperately.

"Norma," Alex groaned against her lips. "Do you want to get out of here?"

Norma looked up into his eyes, more than aware of the decision she was making.

"Yes."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Their clothes were being discarded everywhere as Alex and Norma passionately kissed.

Alex had gently pushed her onto his bed. He was about to remove her jeans when he noticed she had started breathing very heavily and she looked almost panicked.

"Norma?" Alex questioned concerned, his concern grew when he saw that there were tears in her eyes. "Hey," He reached out and gently touched her shoulder. "Sweetheart what is it?" He sat beside her on his bed and gently pushed her strands of hair out of her face. "What's wrong?"

Norma took a deep breath before meeting his worried eyes. "I'm so sorry, Alex." She softly cried. "I thought I could do this but I can't." She braced herself and waited for the worry to vanish and for there to be anger, but to her shock she saw none.

"It's ok." Alex said softly, his eyes still as gentle as before. "I didn't expect this, you know. This isn't the only reason why I brought you back with me. I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed because it's where things appeared to be heading…"

"You're…you're not angry?" Norma's voice was small as if she was waiting for him to get mad and tell her off or call her some awful name.

Alex gently wiped a few of her tears that had fallen away. He took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together and gave her a reassuring smie.

"No, I'm not mad. I don't know what exactly brought you into that bar tonight, what it is that you are going through but this clearly wasn't the answer. And that's ok." He took in her stunned features, her hesitancy. It was like she didn't believe him, like she was waiting for him to go off on her or something. "Why do you think I would be?"

"Well, I…I came on to you. I mean, I practically threw myself at you back at the bar." Norma recalled. "Most guys would be. You don't think I'm some kind of tease?"

Alex smirked amused. "Well…" When he looked at her face and saw the genuine fear, he gently squeezed her hand. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

"I suppose I owe you that much." Norma replied as was about to go but he cut her off.

"No, you don't." Alex quickly replied. "Norma, you don't owe me anything. We barely know each other and if you didn't want things to go further with us than you had every right to tell me to stop." He furrowed his brow at her, his concern deepening. "I shouldn't have to tell you that though."

Norma blinked back tears at how kind he was being to her. She couldn't remember the last time a complete stranger had shown her this much kindness and then she realized that's because it had never happened.

"No, you shouldn't." She finally spoke up. "I uh…I've been having kind of a hard time lately. I guess you could say I've gotten used to getting bad reactions from people." After a few moments of silence, she added on. "From guys. Well…one guy."

"Let me guess, you got into some kind of altercation with your boyfriend?" Alex had had the feeling that ever since she sat in that bar that she was upset with someone. At first he chalked it up to the world in general but now…

Norma laughed bitterly at the term boyfriend. "Good guess."

"Yeah, well I kinda had you pegged right from the start." At Norma's confused look, Alex just let out a soft laugh. "You're way too beautiful to be single."

Another bitter laugh escaped her. "Well, thanks for that but I _am_ single."

Alex tried not to show that he was inwardly happy about that surprising part. The girl looked miserable and he liked her but he didn't like that she seemed to be so sad. "Ex-boyfriend?"

Norma nodded, her demeaner became emotionless. She was done crying over him, he wasn't worth it. "Yeah, we're done so I guess that's what you'd call him. Although lying son of a bitch is really more accurate."

Alex chuckled. Underneath her obviously sadness, the girl had fire. He liked that. "Maybe you should try to work it out." He was shocked at his own suggestion. This is what his friends were always getting on him about, being too nice of a guy.

Norma turned and glared at him sharply. "That's _not_ happening. I'm not exactly the kind of girl who takes back cheaters." She let out a bitter laugh. "But I am the kind of girl who would take him back after he hit me. Go figure."

Alex had to swallow back anger at learning that. If there was one thing that made him ever see red, it was when a man mistreated a woman. "I'm sorry. Forget my earlier statement. You deserve better than someone who would betray you and anybody who would lay a hand on you like that, would only do it again. You were right to leave."

Norma turned to face Alex. "Listen, there's something else. I've…I've never done this before."

Alex looked at her in confusion before it him. "Yeah, I gotta confess I've never just brought some girl I didn't know home with me either." He looked at her. He had this feeling there was something else she was holding back. "I got the strangest feeling there's something else you wanna say but aren't sure about."

Norma laughed. "Your guesses just keep on being dead on."

Alex smiled at her gently. "So, what is it?"

Norma was hesitant. Should she be so honest? "Promise you won't laugh?"

"You're not gonna tell me you're from some other planet are you?" He joked.

Norma laughed. "No. Although you may wind up _thinking_ I'm from one…"

"I promise I won't laugh. What is it?" Alex gently asked her.

"I um…I didn't stop you because I'd just gotten out of a relationship." Norma admitted. "I stopped loving him a long time ago and honestly he's the last thing on my mind. Staying with him was just…it was stupid. I stopped you because… _I_ wasn't ready."

Alex gently reached out a tucked a strand of her hair out of her eye. "Norma, I told you it's ok. We don't know each other that well, I know things were going fast…"

"No." She shook her head. "I mean, yeah they were. But it's not just that. I…I've never had sex before. Not with anyone. Ever."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I wanna thank those who have reviewed. I hope you guys are liking this story. I'm kind of only writing it for two people, but as long as I see that someone is interested I will continue.**

 **Chapter 3**

It had been five minutes since Norma had made her confession to Alex. Honestly his silence was starting to kind of freak her out.

"You're not saying anything," Norma quietly spoke.

Alex turned to her, his eyes still as gentle as they were before. "I'm sorry, I just…I wasn't expecting that. You caught me off guard with that one." He let out a soft laugh but then abruptly stopped. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing, I promise." Her hand was still held in his own, as he squeezed it softly.

Norma sighed. "You think I'm weird now, don't you?"

Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she should have lied. Not that she hadn't already in a way, by omission pretty much. There were plenty of things he didn't know, and now she was having doubts whether to ever reveal them. Not just to him but to anyone she may or may not be choose to be with.

Alex shook his head. "No, hey, no I do not think you're weird." At her skeptical look, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "I promise, I don't." He then added thoughtfully. "You're a lot more innocent than what I took you for back in that bar, but looks can be deceiving."

"If you only knew how wrong you are about that." Norma replied, looking down. And at his questioning and concerned look, she stood up. She removed her hand from his, instantly feeling cold at the loss of contact. "Forget about it. Doesn't matter. I should go. I'm sorry I wasted your time."

Alex immediately stood up, not wanting her to go. Not wanting whatever this could be to end before it could truly begin. "No, hey no." He grabbed her both of her hands, putting them in his gently. "You didn't waste my time. I don't see it as wasted time at all, Norma. When I saw you, I _knew_ I wanted to know you and that hasn't changed."

"Really?" Norma was surprised. She figured for sure that she'd weirded him out or that not being ready to immediately have sex would just drive him away. "You…are you saying you want to see me again?"

She was afraid to hope. She was afraid to hope that Alex was truly as nice and decent as he seemed. She was afraid to hope that if he indeed was that wonderful, that he would actually want to be with her. In her life, in her past...hope never turned into anything but a disappointment for her.

Alex smiled at her warmly. "Yeah, I would love that. I know you're going through a hard time right now, and things are maybe complicated in your life but I wanna know you. Even if we're just friends, that's ok. I wouldn't mind waiting until you were ready for more than that."

He took in her stunned features, and it made him want to do whatever he could to erase any doubts she may have about him and about what they could be. "I really like you, Norma. I know that this is probably fast but I would...I really don't want to say goodbye to you."

Norma felt her heart flutter at his words, at the way he looked at her. "Wow. I've never met anyone quite like you before. Alex, I..." She looked up into his warm eyes and stepped closer to him, their hands still joined together. "I don't want to say goodbye to you either. I really like you too."

Alex gently smiled at her. "How about I walk you home? We can figure out when we go out again, if you want to."

Norma laughed. "I would love to go out with you again, Alex. But um...as for walking me home...it would be a really _long_ walk. I don't actually live around here. I live about two hours away from White Pine Bay"

Alex was stunned. "Wow. Why…why would you drive two hours completely out of the way just to go to a bar? I mean, I'm not complaining. I wouldn't have met you if you hadn't but…"

"It's complicated." Norma replied, not really wanting to get into her screwed up situation. "I…I just needed to disappear for a little while. I drove for a couple hours and I was tired so that's why I stopped. I honestly wasn't thinking further than that."

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Alex asked her concerned. A thought hit him and his eyes began to darken. "Are you running from your ex?"

"Kind o…" She looked up and saw the seriousness in his eyes, the concern. "not like you think. I'm not like running scared for my life. I just don't wanna see him right now. We didn't part on the best terms. While I've completely said everything that I wanted to say to him and am done, he's not." She pulled out her cell phone. "There is like ten voice mails and thirty texts."

Alex frowned. "I don't know much about your situation but if you need to drive two hours away from home just to avoid this guy, you could have grounds for a restraining order."

"Are you a cop or something?" Norma joked.

He didn't smile. "Or something. I'm the town Sheriff."

Norma was stunned.

"Wow. Wasn't expecting that." She replied after a few moments. "Well, I should probably go.."

Alex quickly grabbed her arm, his grip gentle. "You're not going anywhere."

Norma was stunned. Who did this guy think he was?

"Excuse me? Look, I meant what I said back at the bar. I'm _no one's_ damsel in distress. If you don't take your hand off me, you're gonna be on the ground." She forced her voice to sound hard and tough, but she couldn't deny that she did feel inwardly intimidated by him even if it was just a little.

Alex immediately let go of her, regretful that he had obviously scared her. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I would _never_ hurt you. I'm not like that. I just can't let you drive two hours home when you've had six shots and a beer."

Norma was suddenly embarrassed at how quickly she had thought the worst of him. "Oh...right."

Seeing her embarrassment, he gave her a half smile. "You'd be a headline just waiting to happen."

"I kind of forgot about that, legal aspects and all." She let out a small laugh. "I didn't mean to come across as a bitch. I just don't do well with being man-handled. I'm sorry I reacted like that."

Alex looked at her regretfully. " _I'm_ really sorry that you thought that's what I was doing. I didn't think before I grabbed you. I just couldn't let you leave and possibly get into an accident." He gave her a small smile. "I know you're not a damsel in distress but I was trying to save you anyway…from a DUI."

Norma laughed. "Yeah, well I'm sure I would've gotten one so thank you…Sheriff."

Alex laughed. "Just Alex is good. I'm off duty."

Norma smiled. "Ok...Alex."

"So, you can take the bed and I'll take the couch in the living room." Alex suggested to her.

Norma stared at him for a long time.

"What is it?" Alex gently asked.

"I'm sorry, it's just….are you for real?" Norma finally spoke.

"Yeah, pretty sure. Last time I checked." He lightly laughed.

Norma looked at him seriously. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Alex gently took one of her hands back into his own. His face was soft as he looked at her, and he felt concern and sadness that she seemed to think she didn't deserve kindness or basic decency..even if it was from someone she'd just met.

"Norma," He softly whispered. "why do _you_ think I shouldn't be?"

Norma took in his kindness, the way he was holding her hand again...just the way he looked at her...talked to her...it made her feel something that she hadn't felt in years. She barely knew him, yet he made her feel safe...safer than she probably remembered ever feeling in her life.

"You barely know me," Norma pointed out with a small laugh. "and I'm pretty sure I've dropped more drama on you then you know what to do with."

"You think I shouldn't be nice to you because you have things you're going through? We all have had some form of drama of some kind in our lives at one point or another." Alex replied, the gentleness still in his eyes, still in his touch.

Norma just shook her head. "It's not that simple, Alex. God, I wish that it were. That it was just things I was going through and once that was over I would be ok." Tears stung her eyes even as she tried to will them away.

Alex gently reached out to brush a tear that had fallen down her face away. He didn't like seeing her so sad...so hopeless. Her tears...even though he didn't know her that well...they did something to him.

"I get that you're going through a bad break up with your ex and that it isn't easy, and the fact that he was also abusive to you makes it harder." He looked into her tear-filled eyes and gently stroked the back of her hand. "I get it...I probably get it more than you know. Listen, once he's out of your life...as in he stops contacting you and you can just... _think_. Things will seem much lighter for you. I'm sure of it."

Tears were beginning to steadily stream down her face. "It's not just him, it's..." She breathed deeply, as she felt his arms gently enclose around her. "There's..." She really needed to get a grip on her emotions, it was pathetic that she couldn't even string a sentence together.

Alex gently pulled her closer to him, his hands came up to brush her tears away and he placed his lips softly against her head. "It's ok." He whispered soothingly. "It's ok if there are things you're going through presently, or even if there are things in your past that still haunt you that you don't want to tell me. You don't have to tell me anything. I meant what I said, you owe me nothing."

He felt her start to calm down in his arms, it made him happy that he was able to help her in some way...even if it was to just help her be less upset. It was in that moment that Alex realized that he wanted to do that for her. He wanted to do whatever he could to make her life better.

Alex gently touched her face. "Norma, you asked me why I'm being so nice to you, why I'm doing this. My answer is the same reason why I brought you back here with me from the bar. It's because I like you, I mean _really_ like you."

Norma softly smiled. Tears were entering her eyes again, but they were for a completely different reason. "I like you too, Alex. I really do." She did. She liked him a lot more than what she thought would be possible for the short time she knew him.

"And also because it's what you deserve." Alex added quietly. "I saw you the moment you walked into that bar. I saw you, and while it's gonna sound crazy.." He chuckled softly. "I saw you and I just knew."

"Knew what?" Norma whispered, her eyes never once leaving his.

Alex was hesitant. The last thing he wanted to do was to scare her away, but he saw the way she looked at him and knew that he couldn't be anything other than honest with her.

"You're the one." He admitted. "I don't want to scare you, and I wouldn't push you for more than you were ready for. I promise you that, Norma. You asked me and I can't lie to you. I won't lie to you... _ever_. I would never hurt you. I would never let anyone else hurt you either. I can see that you don't trust easily, but if you give me...us a chance I know I can earn your trust."

Alex looked into Norma's tear-filled eyes. She was looking at him with such vulnorbility that it made him want to protect her forever. "I promise you, baby...I won't let you down."

Norma kept looking into his eyes, into his eyes that were full of so much kindness and compassion...honesty. Three things that she were never really able to find in anyone before. His touch, his words and the way they said them completely brought her to tears, but more than that they made her want to take a chance.

Without saying anything, she crashed her lips against his.

Alex returned her kiss eagerly, he still wanted her so much, so bad...he couldn't remember ever wanting anyone more than he wanted her in this very moment.

After a few moments, he forced himself to break away. "Norma," He breathed heavily. "I meant everything I said. I want you, and not in the physical sense..." He then laughed. "Although I can't deny that I definitely do want you in that way too, but that can wait. What I mean is I want to be with you. I want you in my life."

Norma gently touched his face, and she instantly felt warm inside when she felt him bring her hand to his lips. "I believe you. When you looked at me at the bar and I snapped at you...it's what I do. It's what I always do, how I protect myself, but the moment I looked up and saw you...it seemed..I felt like you got me. I mean, really got me. I want to be with you too."

Alex smiled, it was the kind that if done for too long could make your entire face hurt because it was just so wide, but that's how happy her words just made him.

He reached out, gently stroked the side of her face and brought his lips back down onto hers.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I wanna thank all my reviewers and followers. Support means alot. Super nervous about this chapter. Please leave your thoughts below!

 **Chapter 4**

It had been a couple weeks since Norma had seen Alex. They had talked on the phone regularly since she'd left, but a phone call wasn't going to be enough this time. She needed to see him.

So she was driving out to his house. Although if any law official had decided to pay any notice to her, they wouldn't have seen it as driving. It wouldn't been seen as speeding.

She finally pulled into his drive way and angrily turned the ignition off. She was pissed off. She was pissed off at him…pissed off at her…pissed off at the world but even more than them, she was angry at herself. She was angry at herself for getting sucked back into that drama.

She got out of her car, slammed the door and marched up to Alex's front door and proceeded to bang on it with her fists.

The door swung open not even a minute later. It was fast. Too fast for her. She could've done with at least five more minutes to take more of her aggression out on his front door.

"Hey," He said surprised. "I didn't know you were gonna be coming out this way."

Alex smiled at her, but it faded when he got a good look at her. She looked angry. Her eyes looked red and there were traces of tears on her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" He gently reached out and touched her face.

Just like back at that bar, his gentleness was her undoing.

"Alex," Norma whispered, a tear rolling down her face.

She could tell him what happened, she could tell him all about how truly messed up her situation was. Somehow, she just knew that he would get it. He would be understanding. But honestly right now, in this moment all she wanted to was forget...forget everything but the man standing infront of her right now.

Norma reached out, grabbed Alex's face and crashed her lips against his desperately and passionately.

Alex groaned just at the feel of her lips against his. He gripped her hips and gently backed her against the wall.

"Norma," He breathed. "do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" He tenderly ran his hand along her face, brushing her tear away.

"Alex, I need you." Norma touched his chest, she was breathing heavily. "I want you." She ran her hand lower to his belt on his pants, working to unfasten it.

Alex grabbed her wrist, stopping her. He wanted her...badly, but he knew something was wrong. He didn't want it to happen this way, not unless she was completely sure and it was about nothing but the two of them.

He leaned his head against hers and felt the wetness of her tears. "Talk to me." He whispered.

"I don't want to talk," She was shaking slightly and wished like hell that she could stop crying. "anymore. I just want you. When I'm with you...it's like I forget every horrible thing that I've ever had to deal with. You make things better, you make me forget everything but you. I want you to do that again."

She looked into his concerned face that was filled with so much tenderness. "Please. Don't you want me?"

Alex was torn. He wanted her but he didn't want to do anything that she would wind up regretting. But he knew he couldn't answer her question with anything but the truth.

"You know I do." Alex gently replied, allowing his hand to roam under her shirt...feeling her back...her skin. Just the feel of her skin was enough to make him want to take her right now, right here. But he still needed to be sure that this was what she truly wanted. "Jesus, you're so beautiful. You have no idea how bad I want you."

Norma breathed hard at his touch, she felt herself become instantly wet from his touch, his words. "Then take me."

Alex was gently pushing her shirt upwards to remove it. "I need you to be sure, baby. Do you want me?"

Norma moaned as she felt his hand cup her breast, gently squeezing it. She grabbed his face again, kissing him heatedly. She grabbed him through his pants.

Alex groaned as he clutched her to him, he was breathing heavily. Her touch alone just made him want to remove all clothes and bury himself inside of her, but he still needed the words. He forced himself to break their kiss as he still had her against the wall in a gentle but firm hold.

"Baby, I need the words." He removed her shirt and ran his hands upward to the clasp of her bra and unfastened it. He heard her gasp, her sharp intake of breath. He moved his lips to the side of her neck, gently kissing it. He breathed against her ear. "Do you want this?"

"Alex," Norma moaned, pushing herself against him..wanting to feel him. "I want this. I want you." She grabbed his other hand, placing it under her skirt against her underwear that was wet. "Please.."

He needed no other further encouragement. He grabbed her lips and lifted her up, guided her legs to wrap around his waist. "I want you too," He groaned as he felt her wetness pressed against him. "so fucking much."

He carried her up the stairs, his lips never once leaving hers. Their hands were all over each other and in his urgency to get her into his room, he accidentally bumped into the wall, he heard the thump from the impact and realized she'd bumped her head.

"I'm sorry!" Alex gently touched her head, looking her over. "I'm so sorry, Sweetheart. Are you ok?"

Norma giggled at his protectiveness. "I'm fine, I promise."

He smiled relieved and than let a small laugh out. "Good. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Alex finally got her into his room, he gently backed her against the bed as he set her down.

He took in her half naked upper half of her body. "God, you are so beautiful." He breathed. He saw her blush which he found to be so endearing. Then he saw her look down. He reached out and lifted her chin up, wanting her to look at him. "Hey," He whispered. "I mean it. I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you are. I've never wanted anyone so much, baby."

Norma smiled, his words giving her confidence. "I've never wanted anyone this much either."

Alex place his lips against her skin, as he kissed down her stumach, moving lower to her skirt. He knelt down infront of her. He looked up at her eyes, saw the questions in them. "I want to show you how beautiful you are."

Norma was breathing heavily as she felt him push her skirt down her legs. "Alex," She moaned. "I..."

He saw the hesitancy, the apprehension in her eyes along with the desire all at once. "Hey," He whispered, wanting to reassure her. "I won't do anything you don't want, that you're not comfortable with. All you have to do is to tell me to stop and I will."

"I," Norma moaned as she felt him feeling her through her underwear. His words, his touch...they pushed the apprehension she was feeling completely away. "I don't want you to stop. I want you so much. Please..."

Alex gently placed kisses above where her underwear was. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Norma answered breathlessly, honestly. "I trust you."

Alex smiled gently, warmly. He tenderly removed her underwear, helping her step out of them. He removed his own shirt, along with his jeans and he pushed her skirt, along with her underwear to the side away. He looked up at her, taking in her entire naked form. "You're so beautiful." He whispered. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

He began to move his lips lower to where her wetness was. He looked back up at her. "I just want to make you feel good, Norma. I meant what I said, if at any point you don't want this just tell me to stop."

"Please," Norma moaned, her hands moving to his head, softly gripping his hair. "don't stop."

Her words, her arousal they made him smile, they made him want her all the more.

Alex placed his lips on her inner thigh, placing tender kisses against each one. He then moved upward and placed kisses along vaginal area. He momentarily stopped to look up at Norma. "Is this ok?" He whispered.

"Yes," Norma breathed. "please Alex. Please, don't stop."

He smiled at her. "I won't." He started to run his tongue along her area, and than very gently pressed his tongue inside her.

The moment his tongue went inside her, she was suddenly transported back to a completely different time as she stiffened.

 _"Don't." Norma whimpered. "Caleb, stop!"_

 _Caleb punched her in the face, ignoring her cries. "You yell one more time and I will tell mom and dad all about our little hook-ups. Don't forget, I'm their real kid. You're just some stray that they took in. I will tell them that you asked for it, that you came on to me."_

 _Norma squirmed against him, shoving him. "That is not true and you know it. You always force me. I don't want you, never have." she cried._

 _He just looked up at her menacingly. "I'm their real kid." He repeated coldly. "Just who do you think they are gonna believe?"_

 _Norma cried softly, trying to hold her cries, her pain in as she felt him very painfully shove his tongue inside of her just like he always did._

Norma was suddenly snapped back to the present and she was met with Alex's concerned face.

Before Alex could say or do anything, she shoved him. Hard.

"Stop, stop, stop!" She cried out, her body shaking as sobs overcame her.

Alex almost lost his balance from the force of her shove. He was shocked. She seemed fine, she was enjoying it...he had made sure she was. Then suddenly out of nowhere he had felt her stiffen. When he looked up, she seemed so far away. And than she just suddenly shoved him.

"Norma," He whispered. He wanted to reach out to her, to hold her. To fix whatever he had done wrong to scare her. "baby what happened?"

"Don't touch me!" Norma shrieked through her sobs. She backed away from him, crawling back on the bed all the way up to where the head-board was. She brought her knees up to her chest and cried.


	5. Chapter 5

Alex couldn't deny that she was scaring him. He didn't have a clue what he should do. But all his years as a cop, dealing with abuse cases...he just knew that her reaction had nothing to do with him or with them. She had relived something from her past, some painful awful memory...and he was instantly filled with self-hatred that something he had done had sent her back to that.

He hesitantly approached her, scared that he was gonna say or do something wrong. She was as fragile as he had ever seen her. "Baby," He whispered as he gently placed a hand on her arm. He immediately realized it was the wrong thing to do.

"Don't!" She screamed. "Don't touch me! I don't want you, I've _never_ wanted you!"

Tears stung his eyes at her words. Jesus what was going on? But it wasn't even a minute later when he realized that her words weren't directed at him.

"I'll tell, I'll tell, I'll tell!" She chanted through her sobs.

"Ok," Alex whispered, holding his hands away from her. "I won't touch you. Just breathe, ok?"

He sighed. He shouldn't have done this. The minute he saw apprehension in her eyes, he should've dropped it. He was overcome by his own desire, by his own need to show her how much he cared, how much he wanted her.

He walked around to the other side of the bed and started to wrap a blanket around her but halted when he was once again met with her screams, her cries.

"I said don't touch me!" She yelled out, her eyes were screwed shut.

"Norma," His voice broke. He couldn't stand to see her like this, she wouldn't even look at him. "please look at me." She just continued to cry and rock herself.

The longer she was like this, the more concerned for her he became. She had said things to him that didn't make any sense. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what in the world she was talking about when she said she'd tell. Tell who? Tell what?

He really needed answers, and more than anything else he needed her back with him in the present. And from what he could tell...she may be physically in this room with him but she sure as hell wasn't emotionally. What he was about to do was risky and could most likely upset her more than she already was but he was desperate.

Alex got closer to her and grabbed her arms, pulling her close to him...it wasn't completely gentle but it also wasn't rough either. "Norma! I need you to come back to me." She cried, she pushed at him but he wouldn't let her go, could't let her go. "Baby, please. It's Alex. Just...just trust me. Please.."

He lightly shook her and she pushed him. She was still crying. He brought her face close to his. Her eyes opened and she moved back again, he let her once he saw that she was no longer hysterical.

"Norma?" His voice was soft.

"Alex..." She whispered. She was confused, she looked up at him and saw the way he was looking at her. That's when it hit her. "Oh God. I completely freaked out on you, didn't I?"

"What the hell happened?" He wasn't angry, he was just scared. He needed to know what this was because he needed to know what not to do in the future. He never wanted to do something that caused her this much pain ever again.

"Alex, I'm really sorry but I can't tell you." She softly replied.

"Norma..." Alex wasn't going to push her on anything that had to do with her past. He understood that the past was the past and sometimes people couldn't talk about it. But her past had collided with their present. That changed things. "I wish that I could just respect that...not make you relieve things anymore than you already have..." His eyes were pained as he looked at her.

"But the moment that I had my tongue inside you, you completely freaked out on me. It's like we weren't in the same room. You..." Sadness filled him. "You acted like I was forcing myself on you. Like I would ever do such a thing to you." He shook his head. "I get that what we have is new. I get that there are things you aren't ready to share, but if we are going to do this...if I am going to be able to help you...you have to tell me what the hell happened." His voice was firm, but the gentleness never left his eyes.

Norma breathed deeply through her tears. "Ok. I'll tell you."

Alex felt relief go through him. He was afraid she'd run. He gently took her hand in his. "You can tell me anything."

"I need you to know that when I told you I'd never had sex...I was telling you the truth. But I'm not..." Norma blinked back tears. "I'm just gonna say it. When I was a kid...for years before I was able to legally be on my own..." She was slightly shaking. "I'm sorry, Alex. This is _really_ hard for me."

"Would it help at all if I held you?" Alex gently offered.

Norma tearfully nodded and moved into his arms.

Alex gently wrapped the blanket around her and held her close to him. "It's ok, Sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head. "I'm here. You can tell me anything."

"Alex, I really don't wanna lie to you anymore." Norma softly cried.

He inhaled sharply. He really didn't like the idea that she had lied to him, even if they were still in the early stages of their relationship. He wanted complete honesty, needed it. "Then don't." He softly said. "What have you lied about?" He felt her hesitation. "You don't have to be scared to be honest with me."

"There are lots of things you don't know, so I guess those are lies by omission. Buy if you're asking me what I have straight out lied to you about...than it was the night we went out together last week." Norma confessed softly. "You told me about your family, how close you all were. When you asked about mine...I didn't want to come off as someone to feel sorry for. I..."

"You lied." Alex whispered softly. "You told me that your family was wonderful, that you took family trips together all of the time. You made all of that up?"

"Yes," Norma whispered softly. "I made it all up."

"Norma, the best part about spending all of this time that we've spent together the past few weeks is getting to know you better. I can't get to know you better if you lie to me and make shit up." He replied with hurt.

"I'm sorry," She softly cried. "I didn't think you would understand. I didn't know how to bring something like that up into a conversation. I was sure you would never want to see me again! I'm still not sure that isn't the case."

"Norma," Alex gently held her against him. "I get that trust is something that does not come easily for you. Downstairs you told me that you trusted me. Was that true?"

Norma's head snapped up to meet his eyes. "Of course that was true! Alex I may have lied to you about some things...as well as omitted plenty of things, but the one thing I have never ever lied to you about...not even once are my feelings for you."

"I believe you." He gently kissed her forehead. "Please, just tell me the truth now. I promise you that there isn't a single thing you could possibly tell me that would make me not want to see you anymore. It's just not possible. What was your family really like?"

She breathed deeply. Honesty to this degree was really not easy for her, but she couldn't the bare the alternative of not having Alex in her life. That would crush her.

"I wouldn't know." She honestly answered. "I have never met my real family. I was in the foster care system ever since I was born. I've been in more foster homes than I can count. The majority of them were awful. I can honestly say that I had one good family until I was five," She felt a sob rise up in her throat. "but then they had their own and so they sent me back."

Alex was overcome with sadness and compassion for her. What kind of people could do such a heartless thing? "Sweetheart, I am so sorry." He whispered as he gently placed a kiss on her shoulder. "I don't care that you were in the foster care system. Your lack of family would never make me not want you, nothing could."

"I'm not done, Alex." Norma softly replied. "Story's not over. God, do I wish that this was the end of that chapter but it's not. You asked me for the truth, and while every instinct I have ever had just screams at me to lie to you some more...I won't do it. You deserve the truth. I've never really had a real family of my own but I did have an alternate one, they even adopted me. Living with them was hell. My adoptive mother was the only kind person in that house, but she was also weak. Her husband was very mean and abusive, just an absolute nightmare. Her son Caleb was..." She broke off as tears streamed down her face.

"Shh," Alex gently whispered as he framed her face. "it's alright. Norma, it's ok."

"No, it's not." Norma whispered softly. "Nothing about what I'm about to tell you is ok. I was twelve when they adopted me. Their son was four years older than me. He always made me uncomfortable. He was never nice to me, not really."

Alex frowned. "What would he do?"

"He liked to constantly remind me that I wasn't a real part of the family, he did it all the time. I remember that for the first year I was there I thought he hated me. I was convinced of it actually, but then he started getting into fights with anyone that would even so much as look at me wrong." Norma recalled.

"He was protective of you?" Alex surmised. It wasn't uncommon to him for brothers to push their sisters away or even go as far to make them think they couldn't stand them. It was never how he'd treated any of his sisters but he had had friends that did.

Norma breathed deeply. "Depends on what you mean by protective. He didn't want me to have any friends, to talk to anyone. He was obsessed with me. He claimed he was in love with me, but it wasn't long before I knew better."

Alex was stunned. "Norma," His voice was soft, caring. "did he hurt you?"

Tears were steadily streaming down her face. "Everyday for five years he would sexually abuse me. It never stopped, not until I was eighteen. Not until I was able to legally be on my own."

"Jesus." Alex whispered softly. He couldn't imagine how she had survived. When they were done talking and he got a last name, he definetely planned on tracking that bastard down. "I'm just...I'm just so sorry, Sweetheart." His voice hoarse, his eyes pained.

Norma sniffled quietly. "It's not your fault, Alex but I appriciate the sentiment. It's...it's mine."

Alex immediately was shaking his head, but he didn't find it uncommon for her to blame herself. He'd worked a few child abuse cases, he understood this well. "No, it's not." He stated firmly. "You were twelve, you were a child for Christ sake. He was older than you and it is absolutely his fault." He gently brushed away a few of her fallen tears. "Your legal last name isn't James, is it?"

"No," Norma shook her head softly. "it was Calhoun. But once I became of age and took off I wanted to make sure that Caleb couldn't track me down, that no one from that family could so I did eventually legally change it to James."

"Calhoun, that's Caleb's last name?" Alex gently asked.

"Yeah," Norma replied softly before she let out a soft gasp and glared at him. "No. Oh my God! Are you fucking kidding me right now, Alex?" She pulled away from him and grabbed her skirt that had been discarded on the floor, redressing.

"What's wrong?" Alex calmly asked her.

Norma spun around to glare harshly at him. "What's wrong? What's wrong is that I thought this was genuine. I thought you genuinely wanted to be there for me, but you were just being a fucking cop the whole time!"

Alex sighed. "That's not true, Norma. I care about you so much, you have no idea. But that," His jaw clenched as he thought about the way she was hurt. " _animal_ broke the law and he-"

Norma wore a sarcastic smile. "Of course. The law." The fake smile fell from her face as she exploded at him. "It's always about the damn law with you! This didn't happen to you, it happened to _me_! It happened to me seven years ago, Alex. I have been dealing with it just fine on my own!"

Now it was Alex's turn to wear a sarcastic smile and he glared at her heatedly. "Really? Is that so? Because you have a pretty obscure version of the word 'fine', Norma. You completely freaked out on me, it's like we weren't on the same planet...let alone the same room! You wanna get pissed off at me because I wanna make sure he can't come back and hurt you again? Because I wanted to use the position that I'm in as a _cop_ to get you some justice?!"

Norma blinked back tears as his words completely undid any and all anger she had just felt towards him moments ago. "It won't work," She whispered, her gaze downward.

Alex made his way over to her, his heart hurting at the shame he could see reflected in her eyes. He gently lifted her chin, emploring her eyes to meet his own. "What makes you think that? Norma, I can help you. You just have to let me." He looked into her eyes and it hit him. She wasn't upset because she thought he wasn't being genuine. She was afraid, everything else was just a diversion. From what, he still wasn't sure.

"Why are you so afraid to let me help you?" Alex pressed gently.

"Because I never told anyone!" She blurted out. "If you pulled my file with Calhoun, you would see numerous abuse files from that family but you would never see anything with ties to Caleb. I never told anyone. I cannot let you damage your reputation to help me when I never did anything to help myself."


End file.
